340 



YKLLOW-BlLLF.n CUCKOO. -**'' 



inicn. I i1() not know of any reason tor this peculiarity unless it be caused by the temper- 

 ature oi' particular seasons. These Cuckoos arrive about the same time as the other species 

 anil ocLiasioually associate with them. They have much the same habits and notes but T 

 have fancied that I could distinguish the song of the present species as it appeared harsher. 

 As a rale, the notes of the Yellow-billed are more broken, thus they appear to utter cow- 

 co-cow-co, giving the four syllables together, as it were, and therefore, they do not glide 

 forth as smoothly as those produced by the Black-billed. There are, however, some sounds 

 which are made 1)y both which are so nearly alike that I have never been able to detect 

 any difference. 



This species in company with the former are the terror of other small birds during the 

 nesting season for they will constantly rob their nests. I have frequently seen a Cuckoo 

 enter a thicket in which a Robin or Cat Bird had built a home and in a moment the air 

 would resound with the shrill cries of distress given by the parents, causing all the small 

 birds in the immediate vicinity to rush to the spot and as each joins in the outcry, the 

 noise produced is appai'cntly enough to frighten away a bolder bird than a Cuckoo. But 

 in spite of all this din, the glossy thief nearly always succeeds in accomplishing his pur- 

 pose and emerges from the thicket, carrying an egg impaled on his beak. He does not 

 always escape unscathed, however, for he is pursued by a motley crowd consisting of Rob- 

 ins, C::t Birds, Thrushes, Warblers, etc. tliat follow him closely, harassing him on all sides, 

 and some of the more courageous will even assault him with blows from their beaks so that 

 ho frequently leaves some of his feathers floating in the wind behind him. As the long 

 and broad tail of the Cuckoo is a prominent object and as it is also a portion of the bird 

 which its enemies can seize with comparative safety to themselves, this member often suf- 

 fers in these forays, insomuch, that by the middle of summer, it is quite difficult to find a 

 Cuckoo of either species which has a full complement of tail feathers. 



In spite of this propensity to rob the nests of other birds, the Cuckoos are quite use- 

 ful as tliey destroy quantities of insects. I have mentioned under generic characters that 

 the lining of the stonnichs of our northern species were thickly covered with hairs that 

 resembled those from caterpillars. This internal membrane ^or stomach lining is soft and 

 the hairs which under the microscope are seen to be furnished with barbs, are fastened 

 into it just as they grow on the larvae of insects. The hairs which I have examined ap- 

 pear to come from one species, viz:- the tent caterpillar. I have noticed that the Cuckoos 

 arc very fond of these destructive insects and apparently do much toward checking their 

 ravages. During the passed summer, I had an opportunity of observing how beneficial the 

 Cuckoos were in this respect for a pair of Black-bills which had a nest near, would visit a 

 small apple tree on which these caterpillars had established a colony, several times every 

 day and thus devoured so many of the destructive pests that their ravages were so com- 

 pletely checked that the foliage of the tree which would have been entirely eaten had the 

 insects r;nnaiued unmolested, showed l)ut few traces of their devastation; in fact, I do not 

 think that one out of the large number of caterpillars that were hatched in the spring, ever 

 came to maturity. This good was accomplished, be it noticed, through the exertions of a 

 single pair of birds which, without doulit, also ate (piantities of other insects. 



